Saturday, July 31, 2010

Ok so I found this large ornate frame in the dumpster behind our thrift store. Part of it had been chipped but that was all I could see. I think it's made of plaster and wood. So I painted it orange with ideas of putting some kind of art in it. It didn't happen. After moving my desk to make room for the awesome trunk I found. It dawned on me to use it to organize my area in hopes of it not being a dumping ground. Stapled some chicken wire I found in the garage and voila'

instant organizer! I then glued some paper on some clothes pins and now I can see my projects and inspiration.
Plus it cost me NOTHING.
~hint! the lollipop is an up coming project

I was trying to be professional and stay consistent in my blogging. I think I have failed at least in what I wanted to do. I have the hardest time doing nothing even when I can't do much.

So I have laid here and painted another purse. I bought a few of these purses clearance because they were plain canvas with a pink flower that I removed. I splattered paint and dye first .Then taped off lines and spray painted the black stripes and then went back over it with my design with fabric paint. STAR SHINE tada!!! I napped in between the paint drying.

I hope it's cool, my cool meter is a little dated and sometimes gets stuck in the 80's. I got a thumbs up from my daughter so I must be getting close

Saturday, July 24, 2010

This is more stuff I painted. I have been trying to reduce my art center clutter and have stumbled across projects I haven't completed. Case in point- canvas shoes and canvas handbag. I had grand delusions of selling them on Etsy but selling things on Etsy isn't as easy as I thought it would be.I will try again!! Sound the alarm!!! Do do doooooooooo!!! So anyway I'll let you know the best way to do this. Just in case you want to jazz up a pair of shoes. First, stick with simple. Find a design you like and then use fabric markers. They won't wash off. Draw an outline and then paint with fabric paint and a paint brush.I have always loved to paint and this is something that is useful as well as pretty. Plus fabric paint is CHEAP!!! Which is another thing I love :)

Also ~hint~ fabric markers help to clean up your lines when you're done painting.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

So I pondered and then asked friends for advice on what to do with my awesome 3 dollar chest. The following is what I came up with, with their inspiration.

First the shelf....with objects around the house. Yes, those are "book" shelves and are quite easy to make. All you need is a book, two L brackets, and some really strong glue. Glue the bottom of the L bracket to the inside bottom of the book and glue the cover to it as well. Put some weight on it and when dry hang with a couple of screws. Make sure you cover up the tip of the brackets with decor or other books. If you look behind the green vase you can see mine poking up.The chest has been cleaned up but remains rustic. I still need to make a cushion with some awesome "mod" fabric that I can not afford but am going to find a way to fake.

Added some flowers and duct tape to the books to make them stand out.And another bouquet on the candy machine. One of my local florist throws out flowers occasionally and I was lucky enough to come upon them yesterday.I am pleased with the transformation. :) I wish I took a before pic. What was there was a desk loaded with clutter. Pretty easy to imagine. Yay for pretty!!!!! Now to make the desk area pretty. I am working on that today as well as minimizing clutter. So until next time.....

Saturday, July 17, 2010

So I went down to the ReStore today just to look around. Didn't have much money but I found this really old trunk. Not sure what it was but it was well made. It is heeeaaaaavvy! I could tell by my husbands face .Yeah it's dirty but it looks so

sturdy I think it would be an awesome coffee table for outside. Not sure if I'm going to paint it or stain it or call it Bob.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

I have made another duck tape flower. This one is for my friend and her garden. She wanted one for her birthday and I was happy to obliged.

I had to take a picture of it with my other one, just so it wouldn't be lonely.

Pretty huh :) I so love duck tape.

Ok on to the before and after.

So this is the before. An older metal file cabinet. Pretty heavy duty one, could probably withstand a nuclear explosion.

So pulled out the drawers and did some painting and......

TADA!!!!! outdoor seating with storage. You'll have to excuse the tape at the end of the cushion. I haven't got around to sewing it yet. I wanted to make sure no bugs could crawl in. The lid is hinged and found wood. The file cabinet was free, and so was the wood. The cushion I already had. So all this cost me was the paint. I added the mustache because it makes me smile and I needed to man up the deck a little.

I have one more filing cabinet to play with. Hmmmmm what to do, another planter or storage or something completely different. We shall see.....until then.

Monday, July 12, 2010

The weather has been sooooo beautiful lately I can't stop creating things. So I am going blog wild!! hahahha

A few weeks ago I found some round vases for fifty cents a piece. Loved the shape, not so much the color. Felt really dated. So I crocheted around them with some giant hooks and bright green yarn. Much better, at least I think so. Add a little bit of flowers from the garden and bam instant pretty.

Still making my cheap deck pretty.

Hung up the dollar store lanterns in the tree (check out my older posts for tutorial) for more color.

I also have redone another old file cabinet with a different purpose this time. That post will be coming soon. The round orb in the bottom of the picture is light globe I found at the ReStore for a few dollars. It reminds me of a giant bubble. I wish I could find more.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

I was going to wait to post this but I'm too excited. We have this place here in town called the ReStore and it is awesome!! It's like used building materials and furniture and light fixtures or parts of all of the above. All of the money they make go to Habitat for Humanity. Which I love and encourage everyone to support them. One reason they are amazing, the other is finding things cheap. With a capital C and B for bargain. So I found this light fixture cover and it was a pretty good size and square and deep enough but not too deep. I thought bird bath depth. I have also found, about a year ago, a surveyor's tripod for around a dollar at a thrift store. Which I have been hanging on to in hopes of using. I had another one but turned it into a floor lamp.Ok so on to the bird bath,.....grabbed a couple of rubber spacers and nylon bolt and washer to seal the hole in light cover. Painted the tripod in some fun colors using leftover spray paint and left over garage sale stickers.

I have to admit, I was going to leave it the natural wood color but accidently got painted when I was working on the file cabinet planter. Sometimes mistakes are a good thing.

Then just bolted the top to the bottom with nuts and washers. So for about 5 dollars I have a bird bath that is fun and easy to store away for the winter. It is also a great detourant for my cats as I can make it really high.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Still working on making my deck pretty. Thought this would add a romantic touch. Hoping to surprise my husband with a outdoor dinner next week.

So this is the leftovers from the chandelier post I did a couple of weeks ago. I painted this one green and white and used some dollar store flowers to jazz it up. I clear coated the whole thing including the flowers. Now I just need to find some candles.

I repainted my deck yesterday. A beautiful deep blue that looks amazing among the green. If my deck looks familiar, it's because I used free pallets to make it. Once again free is my favorite number. I leveled the ground and added sand and placed 6 pallets (screwed together) on it. I found some 1x2 inch striping to place in the slats . Tacked it down with finishing nails and then cover it in an oil base porch paint.

All in all I love my little deck. It's under a cherry tree and I even found a thick piece of wood to go over the very old pond to tie it all together.